Sickle hold-down clip and method of making same



Jan. 6, 197-0 E. L. SCHENK 3,487,616

SICKLE HOLD-DOWN CLIP AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Jan. 550, 1967INVENTO/P ERWZ V L. SCHENK ,4 rro/vy United States Patent 3,487,616SICKLE HOLD-DOWN CLIP AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Erwin L. Schenk, Moline,lll., assignor to J. I. Case "Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation ofWisconsin Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,643

Int. Cl. A01d 55/08 U.S. CI. 56-305 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Asickle hold-down clip and method of making same, being Y-shaped andhaving a projecting toe for bearing down on the reciprocal cutters inthe sickle and holding the cutters downwardly on the ledger. A materialpassageway is provided in the clip so that the crop or the like will notjam with the clip but can pass beyond the clip. The clips are made in aheel-and-toe shearing from metal so that the width of the heel is thesame as the opening in the branches of the Y of the shape of the clip socrop material can easily pass beyond the clip, and the clip can be madewithout waste material from the metal strip. Sections are provided forbolt or rivet holes, and these sections and the toe are heat-treatedwhile the remainder of the clip is not heat-treated and the grain of themetal is parallel to the direction in which the toe points so that theClip is of maximum strength and utility.

Background of the invention The prior art contains hold-down clips whichare secured to a sickle frame piece and extend in toe portions to beardown on the reciprocating cutters. These clips are generally arched oroffset from the toe portion so that only the extreme end of the clip,namely the toe portion itself, will bear down on the cutters and thusgive the desired hold-down action with a minimum of frictionalresistance to the reciprocating cutters and without interference of themovement of other parts. However, the material being cut frequentlymoves into the opening formed by the arch or offset of the cli and thismaterial can and does pack tightly under the clip to where it bothimpedes the reciprocation of the cutter and it raises the clip so thatit will not properly bear down on the cutters.

Another problem of the prior art clips is the elaborateness required inthe manufacture of the clips. This includes the waste of stock, such asflat metal strip, which may be used for the manufacture of clips.

The clip of the present invention is provided with a passageway whichpermits material to pass beyond the clip and not pack underneath theclip and impede operation of the sickle. It is therefore a self-cleaningclip. Further, in the manufacture of the clip, it can be cut out from ametal strip without any waste of the material since the clip is made ina heel-and-toe arrangement where contiguous clips have the same shearline between their adjacent edges.

Still further, the clip of this invention is readily made in progressivestages on a shearing and punch machine, and it is made in a minimum ofweight but a maximum strength. This objective is in part accomplished bythe configuration of the clip, the arrangement of the grain of metalwith respect to the orientation of the clip, and also by the selectivesurface hardening of the clip.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a fragmentof a sickle having a clip of this invention attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the clip.

3,487,616 Patented Jan. 6, 1970 ice FIG. 4 is a top plan view indicatingthe shear lines on the metal strip from which the clips are made, andshowing the location of the pierced openings and the heattreatedsurfaces and with the view being reduced in size from that of the otherfigures.

Description of the preferred embodiment and the method The sickle isshown to include a fixed angle iron 10 which would extend across thefront of a mowing machine, agricultural combine, or the like. A guardpiece 11 is fixedly secured to the angle 10 by means of bolt 15. Theguard 11 has a forwardly projecting finger 12 with an opening 13extending laterally therethrough. A ledger surface 14 defines the lowerside of the opening 13, and reciprocating cutters 16 are disposed inshearing contact with the ledger 14.

FIG. 1 shows a plurality of the guards 11 and a plurality of the cutters16, and the latter of course have forwardly faced cutting surfaces 17and are slidable on the ledger 14 in the direction of the length of theangle iron 10. Thus the cutters 16 are secured to a reciprocating cutterbar 18 by means of rivets 19. Also, the guards 11 have openings 21 forreceiving the bar 18 and rivets 19, as shown in FIG. 2. The shoulder 22on the guards 11 receives the rear end of the cutters 16 to upwardlyslidably support the cutters 16, along with the ledger 14.

The aformentioned is a conventional sickle design, and it therefore neednot be further shown or described.

The hold-down clip of this invention is generally designated 23, and itis shown in FIG. 1 to be Y-shaped, in the inverted position. Thus theinverted stern of the Y is a toe 24 of the clip 23, and clip sections 26and 27 are the upper branches of the Y when the latter is upright, orinverted from its shown position in FIG. 1. It will further be seen thatthe bolts 15 are utilized to secure the clip sections 26 and 27 in tightcontact on the upper surface 28 of the angle iron 10.

The toe 24 extends forwardly and its lower surface 29 bears downwardlyon the upper surface 31 of the cutters 16 to thereby hold the cuttersdownwardly on the ledger 14 for the desired cutting action.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the clip 23 has its central portion 32 offsetupwardly with respect to the plane of the toe 24 and the sections 26 and27. This offset provides the desired clearance with the rivets 19 and italso provides the desired action of holding the cutters 16 downwardlyonly at a point remote from the bolts 15, for maximum holding action,and for inducing a somewhat resilient characteristic in the clip 23 fordesired hold-down of the cutters.

The offset central portion 32 has a material passageway generallydesignated 33 extending from the toe 24 to the edge 34. Thus cropmaterial may pass beyond the clip 23 when it enters underneath the clipfrom either side of the toe 24 since each side of the clip 23 has theshown opening 33 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

At this time it will be descriptive to refer to FIG. 4 and the strip offiat metal stock 36 which is utilized for forming the plurality of clips23, Here it will be seen that the clips 23 are made in the so-calledheel-and-toe method so that there is no waste of material in that theclips are sheared along a line designated 37 which forms the edges ofcontiguous clips 23 on the strip 36. Thus the toe 24 of one clip 23becomes a cut-out 38 of the contiguous clip 23, so there is no waste ofmetal. The clips are therefor symmetrical about the longitudinal axis ofthe strip 36, and the latter has its metallurgical grain extendinglongitudinally of the strip 36 so that maximum strength of the clip 24will be achieved for resisting bending forces acting upwardly on the toe24. FIG. 4 also shows the pierced openings 39 in the clips 23 forreceiving the shanks of the bolts 15 or the like.

Thus the series of clips 23 is made in blanks which can then be formedwith pierced holes 39, and the ofisets 32 can subsequently be formed inthe clips 23. Thus the Width of the toe 24 will be the same as the widthof the cut-out 38, and the material passageway 33 extending from eachside of the toe 24 to the cutout 38 will be of a maximum sizepermissible in a hold-down clip. Thus there is adequate material acrossall of the critical dimensions of the clip from the standpoint of thestrength of the clip resisting bending and like damaging forces.

Further, FIGS. 1 and 4 show areas 41 on the undersurface of the section26 and 27, and an area 29 on the undersurface of the toe 24, and theseareas, as cross-hatched in FIG. 4 and as outlined in FIG. 1, areheat-treated areas for maximum wear of the clip 23.

The clip, and the method of making same are therefore now described toone skilled in the art. Further, the method as claimed and utilizationof this method as claimed, would result only in the making of this clip.Still further, the clip, as claimed, cannot be made by another andmaterially different method.

While a specific embodiment and method of making same have been shownand described, it should be obvious that certain changes can be madetherein,

What is claimed is:

1. In a hold-down clip for a sickle cutter bar for cutting crop materialand having a flat metal thickness, a toe projecting on one end of saidclip for overlapping a sickle cutter bar, the end of said clip oppositesaid toe having sections with bolt holes therethrough, one portion ofsaid cli intermediate said toe and said sections being offset to oneside from the plane of the thickness of said clip, the improvementcomprising said clip being Y-shaped with the lower stem of the Yrepresenting said toe and the upper branches of the Y representing saidsections, said upper branches of the Y defining a cut-out, the entirecentral portion of said clip at the axis of the Y defining said oneportion and being offset from the remainder of said clip and with saidcentral portion defining a passageway between each side of said toe andsaid cut-out for the passage of crop material between said centralportion and the sickle cutter bar, said toe being disposed in said flatmetal to have said toe point in the direction of the longitudinalmetallurgical grain of said flat metal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,641 9/ 1893 Walton 56--305970,099 9/ 1910 Ogilvie 56310 1,064,074 6/1913 Howk 56305 1,210,9101/1917 Dain. 2,203,982 6/1940 Coultas et al. 56305 2,590,788 3/1952Novak 29148.3 X 2,887,761 5/1959 Krause et al 29---148.3

RUSSELL R. KINSEY, Primary Examiner

